Facilitating data science operations

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed to performing data science operations. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a data science system that improves data science operations as well as enhances a user&#39;s experience in performing data science operations. For example, the data science system provides an improved framework that enables a data source to be paired with one or more algorithms to create a data science operation. In many instances, the data science operation outputs visual results, such as charts and graphs, that are easy for the user to understand. Further, using the framework, the data science system provides tools that enable the user to further customize data science operations.

BACKGROUND

Data science, in general terms, is the extraction of information fromlarge volumes of unstructured data, called data sets. Because of thecomplexities and large amounts of data involved in data scienceoperations, experts, such as trained data scientists, are typicallyneeded to perform operations on these massive data sets. Further,trained data scientists commonly require sophisticated computingprocesses, hardware, and software to perform data science operations.Even with the proper tools and instruments, data scientists still facenumerous challenges when working with large data sets and preformingdata science operations.

To illustrate, to work with a large data set, a data scientist mustfirst provision a dedicated storage space for the data set. Even withrecent advancements in computer storage, finding dedicated storage spacefor large data sets can be difficult. Next, the data scientist mustmanually clean the data, which can involve editing the formatting andstructure of thousands of lines of data to ensure proper readability ofthe data set. Then, upon cleaning the data set, the data scientist canrun algorithms on the data. Before running a data science algorithm,however, the data scientist often needs to manually program (i.e., code)the algorithm, which requires the data scientist to be knowledgeable incomputer programming.

The advent of general-purpose frameworks for large-scale data sciencecomputations has improved data science by standardizing and simplifyingthe above described process of handling large data sets. Nevertheless,data scientists using complicated processes are still needed in order tooperate on data and implement algorithms. Further, while many datascience techniques include elements that are becoming more standardized(e.g. data cleaning and/or normalization), these general-purposeframeworks remain too complex to enable many users, including datascientists to successfully use these frameworks.

As such, in the field of data science, there remains a need for animproved framework to perform data science operations. In particular,current data science techniques require large computing power andtimeframes and are otherwise inefficient and inflexible. These and otherproblems exist with regard to current and traditional data sciencetechniques.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems and methods thatprovide a dynamic data science system that intelligibly updates based ona user's selection of a data source. More specifically, the systems andmethods disclosed herein analyze and organize data sources and datascience algorithms so as to provide a framework for users to easilyperform data science operations. In some embodiments, the systems andmethods generate a graphical user interface that provides access to thisframework, and in particular, provide access to the data sources anddata science algorithms.

To briefly illustrate, the systems and methods display a listing of datasources and data science algorithms as part of a data science framework.Upon receiving a selection of a data source, the systems and methodsidentify a schema for data source. Using the identified schema, thesystems and methods determine compatible data science algorithmsmatching the schema. With a listing of compatible data sciencealgorithms, the systems and methods update the framework to pair theselected data source with the compatible data science algorithms, whichin some embodiments, includes updating the graphical user interface todisplay the filtered list of compatible data science algorithms. Just asthe systems and methods update the framework based on a selected datasource, the systems and methods can also dynamically update theframework to include data sources that are compatible with a selecteddata science algorithm (when the data science algorithm is selectedfirst). Thus, one or more embodiments provide an intelligent frameworkthat beneficially improves the functionality of managing data sourcesand data science algorithm. Further, as a result of the improvedframework, the systems and methods enables any level of user assembledata science operations using compatible data sources and data sciencealgorithms.

Upon pairing a data source with a data science algorithm, the disclosedsystems and methods use the framework to create a data scienceoperation. In particular, the framework enables the systems and methodsto create a data science operation from algorithm building blocks of theselected data science algorithm, inject data from the selected datasource into the data science algorithm, and generate a result or ananalysis of the data. In additional embodiments, the disclosed systemsand methods framework provides further improvements, such as tools tofurther customize the data science operation.

Additional features and advantages of one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows,and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned bythe practice of such example embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments will be described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example schematic diagram of an exampleenvironment in which the data science system operates in accordance withone or more embodiments;

FIGS. 2A-2F illustrate example graphical user interfaces of the datascience system that enable a user to create and perform a data scienceoperation in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example sequence diagram of enabling a user tocreate and perform a data science operation in accordance with one ormore embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example sequence diagram of providing anintelligent graphical user interface that dynamically updates based on auser selection in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate example interactive graphical interfaces showingthe data science system dynamically updating based on a user selectionin accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example schematic diagram of the data sciencesystem in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example flow diagram of generating a data scienceoperation in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example flow diagram of providing a dynamicgraphical user interface for data science operations in accordance withone or more embodiments; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computing device inaccordance with one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure include a data sciencesystem that provides a framework for analyzing, organizing, and managingdata sets in connection with data science algorithms such that any usercan use the framework to perform data science operations. As such, thedata science system disclosed herein enables users, such as untrainedand trained data scientists alike, to more easily create and perform oneor more data science operations. For example, the data science systemdisclosed herein provides an intelligent framework that improves theworkflow of performing data science operations. As a result, the datascience system described herein, enables any user to easily obtain datascience results and output that otherwise would be too complex anddifficult for that user to obtain.

To illustrate, in one or more embodiments, the data science systemprovides an improved framework that organizes data sources (e.g., datasets) and actions (e.g., data science algorithms). The frameworkprovides a workflow that guides the user through the process ofselecting data sources and corresponding actions, which the data sciencesystem uses to create and execute a data science operation. Inparticular, the data science system builds a data science algorithm fromreusable algorithmic building blocks in real-time and injects (e.g.,insert into the appropriate locations based on data types and datastructures) data from the selected data sources into the data sciencealgorithm to create a data science operation. After generating the datascience operation, the data science system runs the data scienceoperation to obtain one or more desired results. In some instances, thedata science system provides a visual output (e.g., graphs, charts,plots) to the user within a graphical user interface. As describedfurther below, the data science system often provides a graphical userinterface to users that enable users to access the framework and rundata science operations.

As used herein, the term “reusable algorithm building block” generallyrefers to a collection of components that can be leveraged to create aset of data science algorithms. For example, the data science systemcombines multiple reusable algorithmic building blocks to form a singledata science algorithm. Further, the same reusable algorithmic buildingblock can be used to in the construction of multiple data sciencealgorithms. Each reusable algorithm building block is often constructedfrom computer code, such as Scala or Python, which is often pre-compiledand ready to execute (after the appropriate data source is added). Ingeneral, trained data scientists create reusable algorithmic buildingblocks, however, other users can also create, modify, and/or update areusable algorithmic building block.

In addition, each reusable algorithm building block includes annotationsto create a data science algorithm. For instance, annotations in areusable algorithm building block indicate required and optional datatypes, which are then included in portions of a data science algorithmcreated from the reusable algorithm building block. Using the reusablealgorithm building blocks, the data science system can build tools andservices that simplify data science operations and make data sciencealgorithms more accessible to laypeople in addition to improving thespeed needed to perform data science operations.

In some embodiments, as part of generating a data science operation, theframework of the data science system includes tunable parameters thatcan vary the outcome of a data science operation, based on user inputmodifying at least one or more of the identified tunable parameters. Forexample, the data science system identified a required parameter in theframework needed to complete operation of a data science operation, andprompts the user to enter the required parameter (e.g., to replace anull value). As another example, the data science system enables a userto modify at least one or more default parameters.

As part of the improved framework, in some embodiments, the data sciencesystem provides testing and deployment of a data science operation. Forexample, the data science system displays a graphical user interfacethat includes a testing and deployment area, and the data science systemdisplays the created data science operation in this area. For instance,the data science system provides generated computer language code thatshows the generated algorithm and allows user input to modify portionsof the code. Further, the testing and deployment portion allows formodifications and multiple iterations of a data science operation, untilthe data science system achieves a desired output. Once the data sciencesystem achieves the desired result, the framework of the data sciencesystem allows for packaging the data science operation for later use.

In one or more embodiments, the framework of the data science systemfacilitates a graphical user interface that dynamically updates tofurther simplify the process of creating and running a data scienceoperation. For example, upon a user selecting a data source, the datascience system filters the listing of actions to only display compatibleactions. In particular, the data science system matches schema data fromthe selected data source with compatible descriptors associated withactions to determine which compatible actions to show. In this manner,the data science system filters the list of actions to actions that areoperational with data in a data source, which are then displayed in thegraphical user interface. If the user changes data source selections orselects an additional data source, the data science system updates thelisting of compatible actions as well as updates the graphical userinterface. In an alternative example, upon a user selecting an action,the data science system similarly filters the listings of data sourcesand displays data sources that are operational with the selected action.

In various embodiments, the framework of the data science system enablesthe data science system to communicate and integrate data (e.g., datasources and/or data science algorithms) with other databases orresources. One example is a service catalog or marketplace, where, dueto the framework integration, a user can browse and select a datascience package to perform on the data science system with the user'sown data sources. For example, when a user packages a data scienceoperation as a data science package, the data science system creates adata science package structured to integrate with the service catalog.As such, if a user uploads their saved packages to a marketplace, otherusers can purchase and/or use the data science packages. In one or moreembodiments, a service catalog and/or marketplace includes third-partydata science packages created by other users and/or data scientists. Assuch, a user can employ a third-party data science package to discovernew insights about user's own data. In some cases, the data sciencesystem uses the framework to filter the selection of third-party datascience packages and displays and/or highlights data science packagesthat are on compatibility with the user's data sources.

The data science system provides a number of benefits over traditionaldata science systems. As one example, the data science system providesactions that include reusable algorithmic building blocks to simplifydata science operations and make the operations more accessible to allusers, including novice users. A significant advantage of reusablepackaged services is each individual user can use and customize a datascience algorithm using only a single selected action in connection withtheir own data sources. As such, when integrated in the improvedframework, users can perform data science operations without beingtrained as a data scientist or as a computer programmer.

In addition, using reusable algorithmic building blocks providesimproved efficiency and flexibility to a computing device or a computingsystem. For example, a computing device can quickly assemble a datascience algorithm using a combination of reusable algorithmic buildingblocks, rather than needing to compile numerous integrations of computercode, which requires additional memory capacity and increased processingtime. Further, using reusable algorithmic building blocks enables acomputing device to quickly perform on-the-fly processing of a datascience algorithm, and in turn, a data science operation.

As another benefit, the data science system only requires a minimaloperating system to start a data science operation and monitor itsexecution. For example, conventional systems require a complexinterworking of devices to process large amounts of data science data.However, because the data science system provides a framework thatsimplifies the process of creating and performing data sciencealgorithms and data science operations, only a minimal operating systemis needed to execute data science operations, even when processing largeamounts of data.

As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the data science systemprovides a framework that facilitates an interactive visual model thatdisplays recommendations of data science algorithms and that can bepaired to appropriate data sources belonging to the user. After the userperforms a selection of a data source, the data science systemautomatically injects data from a selected data source into data sciencealgorithms. Accordingly, the data science system presents a user with asimplified integrated development environment for data science thatleverages the underlying data platform to enable simplified functionssuch as algorithm recommendations, visualization recommendations, anddata science packages for later use.

In these embodiments, the data science system enables a computing deviceor computer system to reduce memory requirements and increase processingefficiency. For example, because the data science system filters datasources and/or data science algorithms upon a user's selection, acomputing device requires less memory and processing power to displaythe remaining options. Further, because less options exist, thecomputing device can search and look-up a user's selection from thefiltered options more quickly because the computing device needs to siftthrough less options.

In addition, in one or more embodiments, the data science systemfacilitates an interactive graphical user interface that improves theperformance of the computing device displaying the interface. Inparticular, the graphical user interface can dynamically update based ona user's interaction to display options more concisely. For example, asmentioned above, the data science system filters out data sources and/ordata science algorithms based on a user selection. As part of thefiltering process, the data science system reduces the amount of optionspresented in the graphical user interface. As such, a computing devicedisplaying the graphical user interface requires less processing todisplay the remaining filtered options.

Additional features and characteristics of one or more embodiments of adocument organization system are described below with respect to theFigures. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment 100 inwhich the data science system 102 operates. The environment 100 includesthe data science system 102 communicating with a client device 104 via anetwork 106. While not illustrated, the data science system 102 canoperate on one or more computing devices, such as one or more serverdevices. Additional components and features of the environment 100 aredescribed in connection with FIG. 9.

The environment 100 also includes a user 108. The user 108 can be anovice user (e.g., a layperson) who is not a trained data scientist orcomputer programmer. Alternatively, the user can be a trained, orsemi-trained data scientist. The data science system 102 uses aframework and workflow to enable the user 108, via the client device104, to perform data science operations.

To illustrate, as one example, the data science system 102 organizesdata sources belonging to a user along with data science algorithmswithin a framework. The data science system 102 uses the framework tofacilitate an intelligent graphical user interface that provides thedata sources and actions (e.g., data science algorithms). Based on theuser selections, the data science system 102 creates a data sciencealgorithm that performs a data science operation using the selecteddata. The framework of the data science system 102 also allows forcustomizable and tunable parameters to be set during the creation of atleast one data science operation. In one or more instances, when theuser 108 selects a data source, the data science system 102 uses theselection to identify compatible actions, which are then displayedwithin the graphical user interface. In some instances, upon the user108 selecting a data source, the data science system 102 provides atleast one recommendation of compatible actions to the user 108.

As mentioned above, the term “data science” generally refers toextraction of information from large volumes of unstructured data. Datascience can also include extracting information from structured data aswell. The term “data science operation” generally refers to analyzingthe large amounts of raw or structured data according to one or moredata science algorithms to achieve a result, which provides knowledgeand insights from the analyzed data. A “data science algorithm” is a setof steps that, when followed, solve a data science question or completea data science process. In general, a data science algorithm receivesthe raw (i.e., unstructured) data from a data source as input andoutputs processed data in the form of a result.

Additionally, the data science system 102 connects with a servicecatalog and/or marketplace that includes available data sciencepackages. Each data science package includes a brief description thatfit into the framework of the data science system 102. In addition, thebrief description also assists the user 108 in selecting a package. Uponthe user 108 selecting a data science package, the data science system102 uses the workflow provided by the framework to guide the user inselecting data from a data source to apply to the data science operationsuch that the user obtains a result. Additionally, the data sciencesystem 102 can help the user 108 customize the selected operation and/orsetting up a recurring schedule.

FIGS. 2A-2F illustrate example graphical user interfaces that show howthe data science system enables a user to create and perform a datascience operation. The data science system and the user referred to inFIGS. 2A-2F can be example embodiments of the data science system 102and the user 108 described with respect to FIG. 1. For example, the datascience system 102 uses the framework described herein to facilitate thegraphical user interface described in connection with FIGS. 2A-2F.Further, the client device 104 described above, or another computingdevice, can display the graphical user interfaces shown in FIGS. 2A-2F.

To illustrate, FIG. 2A shows a graphical user interface 200 of the datascience system. In particular, the graphical user interface 200 displaysa data platform provided by the data science system according to theframework. The graphical user interface 200 includes various areas, suchas a header 202, a toolbar 204, and a body 206. The header 202 includesnavigational elements, user information, and user preferences as well aslinks to data source settings and services. The header 202 can includeadditional or fewer elements than shown. The toolbar 204 provides toolsand selectable options to a user, described further below, that enhancethe user's experience with the data science system. The body 206 of thegraphical user interface 200 includes sections such as a data sourcessection 212, actions section 214, and test and deploy section 216. Eachsection of the body is described in additional detail below.

As shown within the body 206, the data sources section 212 provides theuser with a listing of data sources. The data sources, in general, aredata sets belonging to, or accessible by, the user. As an example, auser may employ a service that collects click event data on one or morewebsites. As the service collects click event data, the service canprovide the data to the data science system, shown as “Clicks 218” inthe data sources section 212. Alternatively, rather than using athird-party service to collect data, the data science system candirectly collect data for a user.

In addition to the Clicks 218 data source, the user can obtain othertypes of data. Other examples of data types in keywords searches, surveyresponses, customer feedback, user behavior modeling, sales data, webtraffic data, or other analytics data. As shown in FIG. 2A, the datasources section 212 includes a number of data sources that include arange of collected data. Accordingly, the user can select one or moredata sources from the list of data sources.

As mentioned above, data science involves processing and analyzing largevolumes of data. By way of explanation, each data source individuallycontains large amounts of data. Often, a data source includespotentially hundreds of billions of data entries, with each entry itselfincluding numerous pieces of data. For example, if the user runs amerchant web site, the Clicks 218 data source can include, for eachclick event, location data of the visitor, timestamps of when a clickoccurs, the specific website the visitor is on at the time of the click,the product or link being clicked by the visitor, the device used by thevisitor, and demographic information about the visitor (if available).Data within each data source can be organized and stored according to avariety of structures or schemas. Further, the Clicks 218 data sourcecan group click events by visitor such that each time a particularvisitor visits the website, click event data is collected, even acrossmultiple browsing sessions by the visitor. Thus, as click data iscollected over time, and for a number of visitors, the size of theClicks 218 data source grows.

Each data source in the data source section 212 is organized accordingto a data source schema. As used herein, a “schema” is a logical way togroup and structure objects. A schema can be applied to a data source,an algorithm, a service, or another type of data organizer/analyzer. Forexample, a schema specifies how a particular data set inputs and outputsdata. In general, schemas provide structure to data such that systemsand/or parties can easily share data between each other. The datascience system uses schemas as part of the framework that enables thedata science system to easily create and run data science operations.

As used herein, the term “data source schema” generally refers to theorganization of data within a data source. For example, a data sourceschema for the Clicks 218 data source specifies the data types, fields,and formats used to store click data, how the click data is structured,and how pieces of click data relate to one another. In addition, thedata source schema for the Clicks 218 data source specifies how clickdata is organized. For example, the data source schema groups click databy the user (e.g., Visitor 34245) and/or by the object or link thattriggered the click data (e.g., Product XYZ).

Using the data source schema, the data science system can inspect datain a data source. As mentioned above, the data source schema for a datasource indicates the data types included in the data source and how thedata is structured. As such, the data science system can use the datasource schema to inject data from a data source into a data sciencealgorithm or apply the data in a data source to a service. As part ofinjecting data, the data science system identifies where particular datatypes are needed (e.g., input variables) in a data science algorithm,identifies the matching data types from the data source, and properlyinserts data from the data source in to the appropriate variables and/orlocations. In some cases, the data science system uses annotations inthe data source and/or data science algorithm to properly attach datafrom the data source to the data science algorithm. In addition, asdescribed in greater detail below, the data science system can comparethe data source schema to an input schema for a data science algorithm(e.g., a descriptor of an action) to determine whether the data sourceis compatible with the data science algorithm.

Each data source can include different data types, fields, and formatsas indicated by a corresponding data source schema. In some embodiments,the data science system receives a data source schema when receiving adata source. If a data source schema is not provided, a user can createthe data source schema for a data source. Alternatively, the datascience system can automatically identify a data source schema for adata source.

Returning to FIG. 2A, a user desiring to perform data science operationselects a data source from the data source section 212. For example, theuser selects the Clicks 218 data source. In some embodiments, when auser selects a data source, the data source expands to provide the userwith additional information regarding the selected data source. Further,upon selecting a data source, the data science system enables the userto further specify the data the user desires to select.

To illustrate, FIG. 2B shows that after the user selects the Clicks 218data source within the data source section 212, the graphical userinterface 200 expands the data source section 212 to reveal additionaldata source information 220 with respect to the Clicks 218 data source.For example, within the additional data source information 220, the datascience system provides a data source description 222 providing a briefsummary of the data source. In some embodiments, the data sourcedescription 222 indicates the data type(s) being stored in the selecteddata source. The additional data source information can also displaygeneral data source information 223, which includes the creation date ofthe data source, the data source was last updated, and the number ofdata blocks or entries in the data source as shown.

As mentioned above, the data science system enables the user to refinehis or her data source selection using the data selection 224. As shown,the data selection 224 allows a user to constrain which data blocks areused from the Clicks 218 data source based on start time and end time.The data selection 224 also allows the user to change the durationand/or range of click data used. For example, as shown, the user selectsone hour of data from the Clicks 218 data source. One will appreciatethat the options and customizations in the data selection 224 caninclude more or less options as well as vary based on the type of datain a data source. For example, while not shown, the data science systemcan also provide additional tools (e.g., a search field or expressionfield) that enable the user to filter the selected data.

In addition, upon selecting the Clicks 218 data source, the data sciencesystem can provide the data source schema 226 to a user. In one or moreembodiments, selecting the data source schema 226 also displays adescription of the data source schema to the user. In some embodiments,the data science system enables the user to edit the data source schemadescription or the data source schema itself.

If the user desires to use the selected data source, the user canconfirm his or her selection by further selecting a data sourceconfirmation option 227 (e.g., the “use button”) within the additionaldata source information 220. After selecting a data source, the userthen chooses an action from the actions section 214 to apply to theselected data source. For example, the user can select the actionlabeled “Frequency Distribution Table 228” (or simply “FDT 228”). TheFDT 228 action provides the data science system with reusable algorithmbuilding blocks that enable the data science system to create a datascience algorithm that computes the frequency distribution of valueswithin a data set field. The FDT 228 action is described further below.

As an overview, the actions section 214 includes a list of actions. Eachaction in the actions section 214 is associated with reusablealgorithmic building blocks, described further below. Thus, when a userselects an action, the data science system uses reusable algorithmicbuilding blocks corresponding to the selected action to build a datascience algorithm that performs a data science operation. Further, inbuilding the data science operation, the data science system injects theselected data source into the data science algorithm such that theselected data is used as part of the data science operation.

As shown in FIG. 2C, the actions section 214 illustrates a userselecting the FDT 228 action. Also as shown, selecting the FDT 228action displays additional action information 230 with regard to theselected action. In particular, the additional action information 230includes a description (i.e., action description 232) of the selectedaction. The action description 232 provides a brief summary of action.In some embodiments, the action description 232 also indicates requiredand optional data source inputs as well as output results of the action.The additional action information 230 also includes general actioninformation 233, such as the creator of the action, the language inwhich the action is coded, the version of the action, and the lastupdate of the action as shown.

The additional action information 230 also shows a code description 234of one or more reusable algorithmic building blocks corresponding to theaction. As illustrated, the code description 234 includes code snippets236 of the action. Depending on the complexity of the action, the codesnippets 236 can include the code itself, portions of the code,pseudo-code, or a high-level description of the code. The code snippets236 also provide a listing of required and optional parameters, as wellas which parameters are tunable (e.g., user customizable) parameters.

In addition to the code snippets 236, the action also displays outputresults 238. The output results 238 indicate whether the action producesa visual result, and if so, the type(s) of visual results available.Further, the output results 238 can include contextual informationpertaining to the visual result (e.g., if the output is a bar graph,providing the title of the bar graph). Additionally, and/oralternatively, the output results 238 indicate that the output results238 can be used as input in another action.

The information displayed in the additional action information 230 foran action can correspond to descriptor information from the action'sreusable algorithm building blocks. By way of explanation, when a userselects an action, the data science system generates a data sciencealgorithm using the action's reusable algorithm building blocks. In someembodiments, the data science system also generates a componentdescriptor that corresponds to the data science algorithm. For example,a component descriptor can include a brief explanation as to the purposeof the data science algorithm and how the data science algorithm is tobe used. The component descriptor also describes what data types or datasources are needed to perform the data science algorithm and theexpected output of the data science algorithm. In particular, thecomponent descriptor describes expected input and output schemas of thedata science algorithm (e.g., what the data science algorithm expects toobserve in selected data sources for valid operation and what output thedata science algorithm will deliver as output). In this manner, beforecreating and running a particular data science algorithm, the datascience system uses the component descriptor to verify that a datasource is compatible with a particular action as well as identify thetypes of visualizations and services the data science system can performwith the action's output.

Listing 1 below provides a sample component descriptor for the FDT 228action. As mentioned above, the data science system provides a frameworkthat employs the reusable algorithm building blocks from the FDT 228action to create a data science algorithm that computes the frequencydistribution of values within a data set field. In some embodiments, thecomponent descriptor provides the reusable algorithm building blocks fora data science algorithm. In other embodiments, the data science systemuses the component descriptor to transform a data science algorithm intoreusable algorithm building blocks that can later be used for recreatingthe data science algorithm.

Of particular note, the component descriptor in Listing 1 includes anumber of annotations that assist the data science system in effectivelyperforming the FDT 228 action.

Listing 1   {  “name”: “Frequency Distribution Table”,  “version”:“1.0.7”,  “type”: “action”,  “lang”: “scala”,  “descriptorVersion”:“2.0.1”  “description”: “This action computes the frequency distributionof a field in a dataframe, and provides the top N field values byfrequency”,  “parameters”: {   “selectedElement”: {    “type”:“jsonpath”,    “label”: “Selected Field”,    “placeholder”: “FieldName”,    “default” : “geo_country”   },   “rankingsLength”: {   “type”: “integer”,    “label”: “Rankings Size”,    “placeholder”:“Rankings Size (Top N)”    “default” : 10   }  },  “input”: {  “format”: “dataFrame”,   “required” : {    “*” : “any” }   },  “output”: {  “items”: {    “type”: “string[ ]”,    “label”: “Array of ranked itemvalues”,    “selector”: “$ . . obj”   },   “counts”: {    “type”:“integer[ ]”,    “label”: “Array of item frequency counts”,   “selector”: “$..count”   }  } }

As shown in Listing 1, the parameters section of the componentdescriptor contains tunable algorithm parameters as detected byannotations within the data science algorithm code of the data scienceoperation. In particular, the component description indicates aparameter that requires user input specifying the frequency distributionfield and the number of ranked items to display. If the user does notprovide values, however, the component descriptor indicates that thefrequency distribution field defaults to the value of “geographiccountry” and the number of ranked items defaults to value of “10.”

The input section in Listing 1 contains the expected format of the inputdata and required data types as detected by annotations within datascience operation. In particular, the component descriptor indicatesthat a dataframe format (i.e., data type) is required to perform thefrequency distribution, but that the input schema field may be any type.Note, the any type indication is specified using the wildcard “*” forthe field name and the type “any” for the input schema field type inListing 1. In some cases, the component descriptor specifies a morerestrictive declaration, such as specifying a field by exact name andtype, or a set of acceptable names and/or types. For example, thecomponent descriptor specifies a declaration using a regular expressionformat.

The output section in Listing 1 defines the output schema of the datascience operation. In particular, the component descriptor specified theoutput “type” field within the data science algorithm code of the datascience operation. As shown in the component descriptor, the output ofthe data science operation is stored in two variables: “items” of typestring array, and “counts” of type integer array. These declarationsallow the data science system to capture the output results of the datascience operation and store them for later visualizations andsubscriptions.

As described above, in one or more embodiments, the additional actioninformation 230, including the action description 232 for an action, isassociated with the component descriptor based on the action's reusablealgorithm building block. More specifically, in some embodiments, thedata science system populates portions of the component descriptor usingthe additional action information 230. For example, information withrespect to the action's name, version, type, language, and descriptionare each included in the component descriptor.

Returning to FIG. 2C, if a user is satisfied with the selected action(e.g., the FDT 228 action), the user can confirm their selection byselecting an action confirmation option 240 (e.g., the “use button”)within the additional action information 230. Upon the user confirminghis or her selection, the data science system uses the reusablealgorithmic building blocks (including the descriptor) corresponding tothe selected option to create a data science algorithm that performs adata science operation.

To illustrate, FIG. 2D shows the data science system creating a datascience algorithm to perform a data science operation as displayed inthe test and deploy section 216. In general, the test and deploy section216 allows a user to preview results when injecting the selected datawith the selected action. Additionally, the test and deploy section 216as enables a user to perform modifications on the data scienceoperation. More specifically, the test and deploy section 216 includesan input area 242, a data science algorithm area 244, and an output area246. The input area 242 displays which data is being injected into thedata science algorithm. For example, input area 242 shows the one hourof data selected from Clicks 212 as the input.

The algorithm area 244 provides code that forms the data scienceoperation. As described above, the data science system uses reusablealgorithmic building blocks from the selected action to create a datascience operation that includes one or more algorithm. As such, thealgorithm area 244 displays the code created by the data science systemto perform the corresponding algorithm(s).

In some embodiments, the data science system enables a user to editportions of the data science operation. For example, the data sciencesystem provides an additional graphical user interface that interactswith the users by indicating which parameters in the data sciencealgorithm are tunable. For instance, for the given algorithm in FIG. 2D,the data science system provides a graphical user interface to the userindicating that the number of results is a tunable parameter. As suchthe user can change the number of results from the default value of 10to another value. In some cases, a tunable parameter does not have adefault value and the user must provide a value for the parameter beforethe data science operation is functional.

In one or more embodiments, the user can directly edit portions of thecode. For example, the data science system enables the user to changethe value of tunable parameters directly in the code of the data sciencealgorithm. For instance, a user changes the number of results displayedin the code itself. When allowing the user to directly modify the code,the data science system can highlight which portions of code areeditable. Further, the data science system can protect other portions ofthe data science algorithm such that the user does not incorrectlymodify the code that and cause the data science operation not toproperly function.

Regardless of how the user edits the code, if after customizing the codeof the data science operation, the user can save the modified code as anew action (e.g., using the “Save Code as Action” button shown). Invarious embodiments, when saving the data science operation as newaction, the data science system provides another graphical userinterface to the user for the user to input information about the newaction. For example, the data science system may prompt the user toprovide a brief description, a version and whether the new action issharable or private. When the new action is saved, the data sciencesystem can display the new action in the actions section 214 within thegraphical user interface 200.

In some embodiments, the input from the selected data source and theselected action are not compatible. For example, the actions requiredata types that are not included in the selected data source. In thesecircumstances, the data science system provides a notification to theuser informing the user that another type of data source is required.For instance, the data science system can display the notification inthe output area 246. Alternatively, the data science operation canprovide an additional graphical user interface that provides thenotification.

As mentioned above, the user can run the data science operation toobtain output results. For example, the user selects the “run” option248 to execute the code found in the algorithm area 244 and the datascience system displays the output results of the operation in theoutput area 246. For instance, as shown, the output area 246 indicatesthe state of the operation, the elapsed time, and the completion of theoperation. Further, when the data science system completes a datascience operation and the operation includes a visual result, the usercan select the visual result option 250 (e.g., the “Graph View” button)to view the results as a graph or other visual result.

To illustrate, FIG. 2E displays a results graphical user interface 252of a bar graph 254 showing the output results of the data scienceoperation. The results graphical user interface 252 includes selectableoptions to change how the results are presented (e.g., buttons to changethe style of the bar graph from a bar graph to a line graph, scatterplot, or other type of graph). In this manner, the data science systemprovides and/or recommends various visualization outputs to help usersbetter understand the output results.

As mentioned above, the data science system uses visualization code togenerate a visual result. Listing 2, provided below, illustrates asample of visualization code that the data science system 102 includesin a data science package to display a bar graph. One will appreciatethat the data science system 102 can employ other visualization codes.Further, one will appreciate that in some embodiments the data sciencesystem 102 has visualization codes embedded within the data sciencesystem 102, and thus including visualization code in a data sciencepackage is not necessary.

Listing 2   “visualization code” :{  “name”: “Labeled vertical bargraph”,  “version”: “1.1.1”,  “type”: “graph”,  “style”: “bar”,  “lang”:“d3”,  “descriptorVersion”: “2.0.1”,  “description”: “A referenceimplementation of a labeled vertical bar graph, implemented in D3 andJavaScript. The numbers of bars in the graph is determined by the sizeof the dimensionArray.”,  parameters”: {   “labelArray”: {    “type”:“string[ ]”,    “label”: “X-Axis label Array”   },   “dimensionArray”: {   “type”: “integer[ ]”,    “label”: “Y-Axis dimension Array”   }  }, “input”: {   “type” : “json”,   “required” : {    “+” : “string[ ]”,   “+” : “integer[ ]”   }  },  “output”: {   “type” : “graph”,   “style”: “bar”  } }

Listing 2, like Listing 1, includes description information, aparameters section, an input section, and an output section. Theparameters section, the input section, and the output section specifythe data types used in the visualization code and how the data types areincorporated into a data science operation. Using the visualizationcode, the data science system 102 provides a visual output to the user.With respect to Listing 2, the visualization code enables the datascience system 102 to generate and display a bar graph.

The user can choose to have the data science system save the datascience session. For example, returning to FIG. 2D, the user can selectthe save option 256 to save the data science session (i.e., state of theuser interface) so it can be restored at a future point in time.

If the user is satisfied with the results, the user can return to thetest and deploy section 216 and deploy the data science operation as aservice. For example, the user selects the “deploy as service 258”option in the toolbar 204, which saves the data science operation as apackage. Once the data science system has saved the data scienceoperation as a data science package, the user can later load and run thedata science operation within the data science package. Thus, the usercan routinely run the data science operation according to parametersspecified by the user. For instance, the user specifies to run the datascience operation once-per-day using the last 24-hours of collected datafrom the Clicks 218 data source and the FDT 228 action and to send acopy of the report to the user's email.

In one or more embodiments, packaging a data science operation into adata science package includes wrapping the data science package with thecomponent descriptor. Wrapping the data science package with thecomponent descriptor provides a number of benefits. For example, asmentioned above, when a data science package is wrapped with thecomponent descriptor, the data science system quickly loads the datascience package to a registry and rapidly executes the customized datascience operation. The decrease in processing time occurs because thecomponent descriptor serves as a lightweight container that providesmetadata (e.g., information and structure) regarding the data scienceoperation, and in particular, the data science algorithm.

Saving a data science operation as a data science package also enablesthe user to share the data science package with other users. Forexample, the user provides his or her data science package to a servicecatalog and/or marketplace. Further, the user can download and/orpurchase data science package provided by other users. In this manner,the data science system can inject the user's data with the servicedownloaded by the user.

To illustrate, the user can select “Services 260” from the header 202,as shown in FIG. 2D, to view a service catalog and/or marketplace thatincludes a list of data science packages (often called services when inthe marketplace environment). Upon selecting the Services 260, thegraphical user interface 200 updates the body 206 to display the servicecatalog and/or marketplace as shown in FIG. 2F. In particular, FIG. 2Fshows services 262 available to the user. Each service 262 can include atitle 264 and brief description 266 of the service. Often, the title 264and the brief description 264 is obtained from the descriptor and/ordescription 230 associated with the service described above.

In one or more embodiments, a user selects a service 262 from theservice catalog and/or marketplace. The data science system adds theselected service to the actions section 214 of the graphical userinterface 200. Then, using the newly obtained service (i.e., datascience package), the data science system enables a user to pair thedata science package with a data source from the user's data sources. Inthis manner, and as described above, the data science system creates acustomized data science operation. Further, as previously described, thedata science system can enable the user to modify the data scienceoperation (e.g., customize one or more tunable parameters) to bettermeet the user's needs.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example sequence diagram of the data sciencesystem 102 enabling a user to create and perform a data scienceoperation. A shown, FIG. 3 includes a client device 304 communicatingwith the data science system 102. The client device 304 can be anexample embodiment of the client device 104 described with respect toFIG. 1. In this manner, the client device 304 can enable a user tocommunicate with the data science system 102.

As shown in FIG. 3, the data science system 102 obtains one or more datasources, as step 310 illustrates. As mentioned above, the data sciencesystem 102 can receive a data source from a third-party service.Alternatively, the data science system 102 can directly collect data fora data source. As part of obtaining a data source, the data sciencesystem 102 identifies a data source schema for the data source. The datasource schema indicates the data that is included in the data source andhow the data is structured. As such, the data source schema allows thedata science system 102 to read and use a data source in variousoperations.

In step 312, the data science system 102 obtains actions. The actionscan be created and provided to the data science system 102 by a datascientist. Additionally, and/or alternatively, a user can create anaction. For example, a user can modify and save an existing action.Further, other users of the data science system 102 can provide actionsto the data science system 102. In some embodiments, another party(e.g., a co-user, entity, or data scientist) can make an actionavailable to a user via a marketplace as a service or data sciencepackage. In these embodiments, the user can browse, download, gainaccess to, and/or purchase different services or data science packagesactions from the marketplace, as described above. Further, the datascience system 102 can recommend various data science packages in themarketplace for a user to use.

Upon obtaining data sources and actions, the data science system 102employs a framework that facilitates and provides a graphical userinterface to the client device 304, as shown in step 314. The graphicaluser interface displays the obtained data sources and actions. Forexample, the data science system 102 can facilitates a graphical userinterface like the graphical user interface 200 described with respectto FIGS. 2A-2F.

In step 316, the user, via the client device 304 selects a data sourceand an action. In particular, the client device 304 receives a selectionof data from a data sources and at least one action. Upon the usermaking a selection, the client device 304 sends the user selections tothe data science system 102, as shown in step 318.

Upon receiving the selections, the data science system 102 identifiestunable parameters within the selected action. For example, the selectedaction has one or more parameter that the user can customize and/ormodify. In some instances, the tunable parameter has a default value,which the data science system 102 uses unless changed by a user. Inother instances, the action requires a user to provide a parameterbefore executing the data science operation.

As shown in step 320, the user customizes the tunable parameters. Inparticular, the data science system 102 prompts the user via the clientdevice 304 regarding the tunable parameters. For instance, the datascience system 102 provides an additional graphical user interface ormodifies the current graphical user interface to notify the user of thetunable parameters and allow the user to apply customizations. Inresponse, the user applies customizations to the tunable parameters.

In step 322, the data science system 102 uses the framework to create adata science operation based on the selected data source, the selectedaction, and the tunable parameters. In particular, the data sciencesystem 102 uses the workflow provided by the framework to create a datascience algorithm and inject data from the data source into the datascience algorithm. As described above, in some embodiments, the datascience system 102 uses the annotations from the reusable algorithmbuilding blocks to create the data science operation. Additionally, thedata science system 102 modifies the data science operation based on thecustomizable parameters. Upon creating the data science operation, thedata science system 102 runs the data science operation, as step 324illustrates. As mentioned previously, the data science system 102enables the user to test and modify the data science operation (e.g.,change the tunable parameters) as desired even after the data scienceoperation is initially created.

Step 326 illustrates the data science system 102 providing results tothe user via the client device 304 upon running the data scienceoperation. The results may be text or visual results. As describedabove, examples of visual results include graphs, plots, and charts. Forexample, the data science system 102 provides a number of recommendedvisual results to the user. Alternatively, the results may benon-visual, such as text-based or stored in various data frames/datastructures. In some cases, the data science system 102 uses theno-visual results as a data source input for a subsequent action.

In some embodiments, the user can optionally create a deployable serviceand/or package the data science operation that adheres to the frameworkdescribed herein. As mentioned above, deploying the data scienceoperation as a service allows a user to run the data science operationon a routine basis. Packaging the data science operation allows a userto provide the data science operation to other users, for example, via aservice catalog or marketplace. As described previously, when the datascience system 102 packages a data science operation, the data sciencesystem 102 associates the data science package with a componentdescriptor (and description) that enables the data science system 102 todetermine which data sources include data that is compatible with thedata science package. The component descriptor also enables the datascience system 102 and other systems to use the framework and identifythe functionality of the data science operation within the data sciencepackage within needed to unpack the data science package.

In some embodiments, once the user selects the data, the data sciencesystem uses the component descriptor to bind the selected data to thedata science algorithm to generate a customized data science operation.Specifically, the data science system 102 uses the component descriptorto bind the selected data to the required inputs of the data sciencealgorithm. For example, the component descriptor comprises bindinginformation that indicates which data types in the selected data to bindto which variables within the data science algorithm. In this manner,the data science system 102 injects the user's data into the datascience algorithm from the data science package. Further, depending onthe number of tunable and/or optional parameters, the user can furthermodify and customized the data science operation.

In addition to generating a component descriptor for a data sciencepackage, in some embodiments, the data science system 102 also generatesa service descriptor for the data science package. For example, the datascience system 102 generates a service descriptor for data sciencepackages that include multiple data science algorithms within a datascience operation. For instance, when a data science package includesmultiple data science algorithms, the data science package oftenincludes multiple component descriptors, which can create conflicts. Assuch, a service descriptor serves as an additional container thatpackages the multiple component descriptors together within a datascience package.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example sequence diagram of the data sciencesystem 102 providing an intelligent graphical user interface thatdynamically updates based on a user selection. As shown, FIG. 4 includesa client device 404 communicating with the data science system 102. Theclient device 404 can be an example embodiment of the client device 104described with respect to FIG. 1. In this manner, the client device 404can enable a user to communicate with the data science system 102.

In addition to the graphical user interface provided above, the datascience system 102 can dynamically adjust the graphical user interfacein accordance with the framework of the data science system to simplifythe process of creating a data science operation. In this manner, thedata science system 102 further intelligently interacts with and guidesusers through the process of creating data science operations bymatching data sources with compatible actions. Further, as the datascience system 102 dynamically interacts with a user, the data sciencesystem 102 improves the functionality of the client device itself byreducing the backend processing and display resources needed to providefiltered data (e.g., data sources and/or actions) to the user.

To illustrate, step 410 in FIG. 4 shows the data science system 102displaying the graphical user interface to a user via the client device404. The graphical user interface displays the data sources and actions.For example, the data science system 102 can display a graphical userinterface like the graphical user interface 200 described with respectto FIGS. 2A-2E. For instance, the graphical user interface includes adata source section, an actions section, and a test and deploy section.

In step 412, the user selects a data source via the client device 404.In particular, the user selects a data source within the data sourcesection as described above. For example, the data source sectionincludes a listing of available data sources collected by the user thatcover a variety of collected data (e.g., web traffic data, keywordssearches, survey responses, customer feedback, social networking data,user behavior modeling, sales data, and clicks and impressions) andinclude a range of data types.

Upon selecting a data source, the data science system 102 identifies aschema (i.e., a data source schema) for the selected data source, asstep 414 illustrates. For example, the data science system 102identifies a schema associated with the selected data source. In someembodiments, the data science system 102 generates a data source schemafrom the data source by identifying data types within and the structureof the data schema. In particular, the data science system 102identifies the types of data within the selected data source from thecorresponding schema.

Using the schema of the data source, the data science system 102 matchesthe selected data source to compatible actions, as shown in step 416.Specifically, the data science system 102 can use annotations and/orcomponent descriptors associated with each action to identify requiredand optional data types used by the action (see Listing 1 above for anexample of a component descriptor that includes annotations). The datascience system 102 then verifies that the identified data types in theaction match the data types in the selected data source. If an actionuses data types provided in the selected data source, the data sciencesystem 102 denotes the action as a compatible action.

As an example, the user selects a data source that includes a schemaindicating that the data source contains a dataFrame (i.e., adistributed collection of data, which is organized into named columns)pertaining to social networking data. Included in the dataFrame is anarray of strings and an array of integers relating to social preferencesof users. The data science system then scans each action to identifywhich actions have fields requiring a string array data type and aninteger array data type. For each action having these required datatypes, the data science system 102 denotes the action as compatible.

In one or more embodiments, the data science system 102 scans eachaction by identifying annotations in each action and identifies requireddata types from the annotations. In some embodiments, an action requiresa more restrictive input, such as a field with a particular name andtype. In these embodiments, the data science system 102 only denotes anaction as compatible with an action if the selected data source matchesthe more restrictive required input of the action.

In step 418, the data science system 102 filters the actions based onthe matches of compatible actions. For example, the data science system102 filters the actions section to only display actions that arecompatible with the selected data source. Further, as step 420illustrates, the data science system 102 updates the graphical userinterface to display the filtered actions. In this manner, upon the userselecting a data source and uses the interactive user interface, thedata science system 102 ensures that any action subsequently selected bythe user will include compatible data with the selected data source.

As shown in step 422, the user selects an action on the client device404. For example, the user selects an action from the filtered list ofactions in the actions section. After the user selects an action, thedata science system 102 creates and generates and runs a data scienceoperation using the selected data source and action, as shown in step424 and as described above.

In some embodiments, rather than filtering out non-compatible actions,the data science system 102 can highlight, move up, and/or otherwiserecommend compatible actions to a user. Further, depending on the numberof matching data types, some actions may be more compatible with thedata source than other actions. As such, the data science system 102 canrank the actions based on how compatible an action is relative to theother actions. For example, the data science system 102 ranks theactions based on a compatibility score and displays the actions based onthe ranking.

In addition, just as the data science system 102 can filter actionsbased on a selected data source, the data science system 102 canlikewise filter data sources based on a selected action. For example,the data science system 102 displays an unfiltered list of data sourcesand actions to the user. The user then selects an action. In response,the data science system 102 identifies descriptors in the selectedaction. The data science system 102 then inspects the data sources inthe data source section to find data sources that include the same datatypes identified in the selected action, which the data science system102 classifies as a compatible data sources. The data science system 102then updates the graphical user interface display of the data sourcesection to display only data sources compatible with the selectedaction. If the user selects another action, the data science system 102re-determines compatible data sources and updates the graphical userinterface display accordingly.

To further illustrate, FIGS. 5A-5B show the data science systemdynamically updating an interactive graphical interface based on a userselection. In general, the data science system and the user referred toin FIGS. 5A-5B can be example embodiments of the data science system 102and the user 108 described with respect to FIG. 1. Further, one of theclient devices 104, 304, 404 described above, or another computingdevice, can display the graphical user interfaces shown in FIGS. 5A-5B.

FIG. 5A illustrates the graphical user interface 200 described abovewith respect to FIG. 2A. For example, the graphical user interface 200includes the header 202, the toolbar 204, and the body 206. Further, asdescribed above, the body 206 of the graphical user interface 200includes a data source section 212, an actions section 214, and a testand deploy section 216. In particular, the data source section 212displays a list of data sources and the actions section 214 displays alist of actions. While some of the data sources are compatible with someof the actions, rarely are all data sources compatible with each listedaction.

In FIG. 5A, a user desiring to build a data science operation selects adata source from the data source section 212. For example, the userselects the Clicks 218 data source from the data sources. Upon the userselecting the Clicks 218 data source, the data science system determinescompatible actions as described above, and updates the graphical userinterface 200 to display compatible actions. More specifically, the datascience system updates the actions section 214 of the graphical userinterface 200 to filter out incompatible actions.

To illustrate, in FIG. 5B, the user selects the Clicks 218 data source.In response, the data science system 102 determines which actions arecompatible and automatically filters the list of actions to display thecompatible actions 515. In this manner, using any of the displayedcompatible actions 515, the data science system 102 can create and run adata source using data from the Clicks 218 data source. Thus, the datascience system 102 enables the user to easily understand which actionswork with a particular data source, which reduces the complexity andconfusion typically associated with creating data science operations.

Once the user selects a compatible action, the user can test, modify,and deploy the data science operation as described above. If, however,the user selects a different data source, the data science system canagain update the graphical user interface 200 to show actions in theactions section 214 that are compatible with the newly selected datasource. In some instances, if the newly selected data source includessimilar data types as the previously selected data source, thecompatible actions 515 may remain the same.

Further, as mentioned above, in some embodiments, the data sciencesystem 102 can filter compatible data sources in the data source section212 based on a selected action. For example, if the user selected theaction “Geo Analysis (USA)” shown in FIG. 5A, the data science system102 narrows down the data sources in the data source section 212 to showa subset of the data sources that are compatible with the selectedaction. The user can then select one or more of the compatible datasources to pair with the selected action for the data science system toinclude in a data science operation.

In various embodiments, if the user views the service catalog and/ormarketplace (as described above in connection with FIG. 2F), the datascience system can filter which services are presented to the user'sdata sources. In other words, the data science system only displaysservices (e.g., data science packages) in the service catalog that arecompatible with the user's data sources. Additionally, the data sciencesystem can filter services in the service catalog and/or marketplacebased on a selected data source.

In some embodiments, if the user selects a data source for which thereare no compatible actions in the actions section 214, the data sciencesystem identifies compatible services from the service catalog and/ormarketplace and provides the compatible services to the user.Alternatively, even when the data science system determines that one ormore actions in the actions section 214 are compatible with the datasource selected by the user, the data science system can recommend oneor more services from the service catalog that are also compatible withthe selected data source.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example schematic architecture diagram of a datascience system 600. The data science system 600 can be an exampleembodiment of the data science system 102 described above. One or morecomputing devices (e.g., server devices) can implement the data sciencesystem 600. Additional details with respect to computing devices arediscussed with respect to FIG. 9 below.

As shown in FIG. 6, the data science system 600 can include variouscomponents for performing the processes and features described herein.For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the data science system600 includes a data source manager 602, an action manager 604, acompatibility manager 606, a data science operations manager 608, and auser interface manager 610.

The components 602-610 of the data science system 600 can comprisesoftware, hardware, or both. For example, the components 602-610 cancomprise one or more instructions stored on a computer-readable storagemedium and executable by processors of one or more computing devices,such as a client device or server device. When executed by the one ormore processors, the computer-executable instructions of the datascience system 600 can cause the computing device(s) to perform thefeature learning methods described herein. Alternatively, the components602-610 can comprise hardware, such as a special purpose processingdevice to perform a certain function or group of functions.Alternatively, the components 602-610 of the data science system 600 cancomprise a combination of computer-executable instructions and hardware.

As mentioned above, the data science system 600 includes the data sourcemanager 602. In general, the data source manager 602 manages a user'sdata sources. As described above, the data source manager 602 receivesdata sources from third-party services or facilitates a user incollecting data for a data source via the data science system 600. Whenadditional data is received for the data source, the data source manager602 updates the corresponding data source.

In addition, the data source manager 602 identifies a data source schemafor each data source. If the data source manager 602 cannot identify aschema, the data source manager 602 creates a data source schema asdescribed previously. Alternatively, the data source manager 602 mayprompt a user to create a data source schema when the data sourcemanager 602 cannot identify a data source schema for a data source.

The action manager 604 manages a user's actions. For example, the actionmanager 604 assists a user with acquiring actions. For instance, theaction manager 604 facilitates a user downloading and/or purchasingactions from a repository (e.g., a service catalog or marketplace).Further, the action manager 604 assist users in creating and storing newactions.

The action manager 604 also identifies descriptors (and/or descriptions)for an action. For example, when an action is created, the actionmanager 604 prompts the user to provide a description of the action. Asanother example, when an action is coded, the creator of the action canannotate the component descriptor to include information correspondingto the action.

The action manager 604 also identifies the reusable algorithm buildingblocks corresponding to an action, which can include the descriptor. Aspart of the descriptor, the action manager 604 determines whichparameters are required and which parameters are optional. Further, theaction manager 604 can identify when a parameter (required or optional)is tunable or customizable, as described above.

The compatibility manager 606, in general, determines whether a datasource and an action are compatible. More specifically, thecompatibility manager 606 compares and/or matches the data source schemafor a data source to a descriptor of an action (e.g., the input schemalisted in the descriptor). Based on the comparison, the compatibilitymanager 606 determines whether the data source and the action arecompatible.

In some embodiments, the compatibility manager 606 determines that adata source and an action are compatible when the data source includesdata types used by the action. In other words, if the action requiresone or more parameters of a particular data type (or types), thecompatibility manager 606 can determine compatibility when a data sourceincludes the particular data type (or types). Further, the compatibilitymanager 606 can determine compatibility between many data sources tomany actions, as described above.

The data science operations manager 608 (or simply “operations manager608”) creates and executes data science operations. For example, when auser selects a data source and an action, the data source generates adata science algorithm as part of the data science operation fromreusable algorithm building blocks associated with the action andinjects data from the selected data source into the data sciencealgorithm. In some embodiments, the operations manager 608 prompts theuser to provide required or optional input regarding one or more tunableparameters.

The operations manager 608 also executes the data science operation toachieve output results with respect to the selected data source andaction. If the user does not achieve the desired result, or desiresanother results, the operations manager 608 allows the user to modifyone or more parts of the data science operation. For example, theoperations manager 608 provides tools to the user to change tunableparameters within the data science operation and re-run the data scienceoperation.

The operations manager 608 may output various types of results. In oneor more embodiments, the operations manager 608 outputs a visual result,such as a graph or chart. In alternative embodiments, the operationsmanager 608 outputs data that serves as input for another action. Forexample, the operations manager 608 performs multiple algorithms inserial using the output data from the first action as input data in thesecond action before outputting a visual result.

As described above, the operations manager 608 can deploy a data scienceoperation as a service. Additionally, the operations manager 608 canalso save and load data science operations. For example, as providedabove, the operations manager 608 packages the data science operation asa data science package and add the data science package to a servicecatalog and/or marketplace. Similarly, the operations manager 608 allowsa user to download and run a data science package from a marketplace byapply the user's data to the data science package and generating a datascience operation customized to the user.

The user interface manager 610, in general, displays a graphical userinterface to a user. In many embodiments, the graphical user interfaceis an intelligent interface that dynamically updates as a user interactswith the data science system 600. For example, as a user providesselections of data sources and/or actions, the user interface manager610 updates other parts of the graphical user interface by filteringunnecessary/incompatible data from the graphical user interface. Inaddition, the user interface manager 610 provides prompts (e.g., in anadditional graphical user interface) that help guide a user through theprocess of creating and modifying a data science operation. Further, theuser interface manager 610 displays visual results outputted by the datascience operations manager 608.

FIGS. 1-6, the corresponding text, and the examples, provide a number ofdifferent systems and devices for performing data science operations inaccordance with one or more embodiments. In addition to the foregoing,one or more embodiments can also be described in terms of flowchartscomprising acts and steps in a method for accomplishing a particularresult. For example, FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate flowcharts of exemplarymethods in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a series of acts in a method 700 forproviding a dynamic graphical user interface for data science operationsin accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein. In one ormore embodiments, the method 700 is implemented in a digital mediumenvironment for performing data science operations. Further, one or morecomputing devices described herein can implement a data science systemthat implements the method 700.

The method 700 includes an act 710 of providing a list of data sourcesand a list of algorithms. In particular, the act 710 may involvedisplaying, within a graphical user interface, a plurality of datasources and a plurality of algorithms. For example, the act 710 ofdisplaying data sources and algorithms may involve displaying a list ofdata sources and displaying a list of algorithms as described herein.

The method 700 further includes an act 720 of receiving a selection of adata source. In particular, the act 720 can involve receiving, from auser interacting with the graphical user interface, a selection of adata source from the plurality of data sources. In some embodiments, theact 720 involves the user selecting a data source from the list of datasources within the graphical user interface in any suitable mannerdescribed herein.

The method 700 also includes an act 730 of identifying a data sourceschema. In particular, the act 730 may include identifying a data sourceschema for the selected data source. In various embodiments, the datasource schema includes at least one data type of data stored in theselected data source.

In addition, the method 700 includes an act 740 of comparing the datasource schema to each algorithm. In particular, the act 740 may involvecomparing the data source schema to each algorithm of the plurality ofalgorithms to identify compatible algorithms. In one or moreembodiments, each algorithm of the plurality of algorithms includes adescriptor, and each descriptor identifies at least one data type usedby the algorithm. In additional embodiments, the act 740 includescomparing the data type from the data source schema of the selected datasource to descriptors from the plurality of algorithms to identifyalgorithms having the data type.

The method 700 further includes an act 750 of displaying the compatiblealgorithms. In particular, the act 750 may involve updating thegraphical user interface to display only compatible algorithms. In someadditional embodiments, the method 700 may also include acts ofreceiving, within the graphical user interface, a selection of acompatible algorithm from the compatible algorithms, generating a datascience operation using the selected data source and the selectedalgorithm, and executing the data science operation. Further, in someembodiments, executing the data science operation outputs a result,where the result is a visual result such as a graph, chart, or plot.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a series of acts in a method 800 forcreating a data science operation in accordance with one or moreembodiments disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, the method 800is implemented in a digital medium environment for performing datascience operations. Further, one or more computing devices describedherein can implement a data science system that implements the method800.

The method 800 includes an act 810 of providing a list of data sourcesand a list of algorithms. In particular, the act 810 may involveproviding, via a user interface, a list of data sources and providing,via the user interface, a list of data science algorithms. For example,the act 810 displays the list of data sources and data sciencealgorithms in any suitable manner as described herein. In variousembodiments, the act 810 also includes displaying a description of eachalgorithm of the plurality of algorithms, where the description providesdata types associated with each algorithm. In one or more embodiments,one or more data sources from the list of data sources are user-specificdata sources.

The method 800 further includes an act 820 of receiving a selection of adata source and an algorithm. In particular, the act 820 can involvereceiving, based on user input, a selection of a data source from thelist of data sources and a data science algorithm from the list of datascience algorithms. In some embodiments, the act 820 involves the userselecting a data source and/or algorithm from the list of data sourceswithin the graphical user interface in any suitable manner describedherein.

The method 800 also includes an act 830 of identifying building blockscorresponding to the algorithm. In particular, the act 830 can involveidentifying reusable algorithm building blocks corresponding to the datascience algorithm. For example, the act 830 includes looking up reusablealgorithm building blocks that are associated with the selectedalgorithm.

Additionally, the method 800 includes an act 840 of generating a datascience operation. In particular, the act 840 can involve generating adata science operation by injecting data from the data source into theidentified reusable algorithm building blocks. In some embodiments, theact 840 can include using the reusable algorithm building blocks togenerate computer language code that, when executed, performs datascience operations on the selected data source. In one or moreembodiments, the act 840 can involve identifying one or more tunableparameters associated with the reusable algorithm building blocks of theselected algorithm, for example, using annotations associated with theselected algorithm.

The method 800 also includes an act 850 of executing the generated datascience. In particular, the act 850 can involve executing the generateddata science operation to generate a data science result. For example,the act 850 executes the data science operation in any suitable manneras described herein.

In addition, the method 800 includes an act 860 of providing avisualization of result. In particular, the act 860 can involveproviding, via the user interface, a visualization of the data scienceresult. For example, the act 860 includes displaying the output resultsof the data science operation as a graph, chart, or plot within thegraphical user interface.

The method 800 can also include a number of acts. For example, themethod 800 can include the acts of identifying one or more tunableparameters, prompting the user to modify the tunable parameter from adefault value to a user-defined value, and executing the data scienceoperation using the user-defined value for the tunable parameter.Further, the method 800 may include the acts of receiving updated inputfrom the user modifying the tunable parameter to a second user-definedvalue, executing the data science operation using the seconduser-defined value for the tunable parameter, and packaging the datascience operation as a data science package. Additionally, the method800 may include an act of deploying the data science packaged as aservice to a service catalog and/or marketplace.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may comprise or utilize a specialpurpose or general-purpose computer including computer hardware, suchas, for example, one or more processors and system memory, as discussedin additional detail below. Embodiments within the scope of the presentdisclosure also include physical and other computer-readable media forcarrying or storing computer-executable instructions and/or datastructures. In particular, one or more of the processes described hereinmay be implemented at least in part as instructions embodied in anon-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or morecomputing devices (e.g., any of the media content access devicesdescribed herein). In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor)receives instructions, from a non-transitory computer-readable medium,(e.g., a memory, etc.), and executes those instructions, therebyperforming one or more processes, including one or more of the processesdescribed herein.

Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessedby a general purpose or special purpose computer system.Computer-readable media that store computer-executable instructions arenon-transitory computer-readable storage media (devices).Computer-readable media that carry computer-executable instructions aretransmission media. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation,embodiments of the disclosure can comprise at least two distinctlydifferent kinds of computer-readable media: non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media (devices) and transmission media.

Non-transitory computer-readable storage media (devices) includes RAM,ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, solid state drives, Flash memory, phase changememory, other types of memory, other optical disk storage, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store desired program code means in the form ofcomputer-executable instructions or data structures and which can beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The term “digital environment,” as used herein, generally refers to anenvironment that is implemented, for example, as a stand-aloneapplication (e.g., a personal computer or mobile application running ona computing device), as a module of an application, as a plug-in for anapplication, as a library function or functions that may be called by anetwork application creation system, and/or as a cloud-computing system.A digital medium environment allows users to create, test, and/or editdata science operations in connection with a data science system.

Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions anddata which, when executed at a processor, cause a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing deviceto perform a certain function or group of functions. In someembodiments, computer-executable instructions are executed on ageneral-purpose computer to turn the general-purpose computer into aspecial purpose computer implementing elements of the disclosure. Thecomputer-executable instructions may be, for example, binaries,intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, or evensource code. Although the subject matter has been described in languagespecific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the described features or acts described above.Rather, the described features and acts are disclosed as example formsof implementing the claims.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computing device 900that may be configured to perform one or more of the processes describedabove. One will appreciate that one or more computing devices, such asthe computing device 900 may host the data science system 102, 600.Alternatively, the computing device 900 may include a device (e.g., 104,304, 404) that communicates with the data science system 102, 600. Inone or more embodiments, the computing device 900 may be a mobile device(e.g., a mobile telephone, a smartphone, a PDA, a tablet, a laptop, acamera, a tracker, a watch, a wearable device, etc.). In someembodiments, the computing device 900 may be a non-mobile device (e.g.,a desktop computer or another type of client device).

As shown by FIG. 9, the computing device 900 can comprise one or moreprocessor(s) 902, memory 904, a storage device 906, an input/output(“I/O”) interface 908, and a communication interface 910, which may becommunicatively coupled by way of a communication infrastructure (e.g.,bus 912). While an exemplary computing device 900 is shown in FIG. 9,the components illustrated in FIG. 9 are not intended to be limiting.Additional or alternative components may be used in other embodiments.Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the computing device 900 caninclude fewer components than those shown in FIG. 9. Components of thecomputing device 900 shown in FIG. 9 will now be described in additionaldetail.

In particular embodiments, the processor(s) 902 includes hardware forexecuting instructions, such as those making up a computer program. Asan example and not by way of limitation, to execute instructions,processor(s) 902 may retrieve (or fetch) the instructions from aninternal register, an internal cache, memory 904, or a storage device906 and decode and execute them.

The computing device 900 includes memory 904, which is coupled to theprocessor(s) 902. The memory 904 may be used for storing data, metadata,and programs for execution by the processor(s). The memory 904 mayinclude one or more of volatile and non-volatile memories, such asRandom Access Memory (“RAM”), Read Only Memory (“ROM”), a solid statedisk (“SSD”), Flash, Phase Change Memory (“PCM”), or other types of datastorage. The memory 904 may be internal or distributed memory.

The computing device 900 includes a storage device 906 includes storagefor storing data or instructions. As an example and not by way oflimitation, storage device 906 can comprise a non-transitory storagemedium described above. The storage device 906 may include a hard diskdrive (HDD), flash memory, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive or acombination these or other storage devices.

The computing device 900 also includes one or more input I/O interfaces908, which are provided to allow a user to provide input to (such asuser strokes), receive output from, and otherwise transfer data to andfrom the computing device 900. These I/O interfaces 908 may include amouse, keypad or a keyboard, a touch screen, camera, optical scanner,network interface, modem, other known I/O devices or a combination ofsuch I/O interfaces 908. The touch screen may be activated with a stylusor a finger.

The I/O interfaces 908 may include one or more devices for presentingoutput to a user, including, but not limited to, a graphics engine, adisplay (e.g., a display screen), one or more output drivers (e.g.,display drivers), one or more audio speakers, and one or more audiodrivers. In certain embodiments, I/O interfaces 908 are configured toprovide graphical data to a display for presentation to a user. Thegraphical data may be representative of one or more graphical userinterfaces and/or any other graphical content as may serve a particularimplementation.

The computing device 900 can further include a communication interface910. The communication interface 910 can include hardware, software, orboth. The communication interface 910 can provide one or more interfacesfor communication (such as, for example, packet-based communication)between the computing device and one or more other computing devices 900or one or more networks. As an example and not by way of limitation,communication interface 910 may include a network interface controller(NIC) or network adapter for communicating with an Ethernet or otherwire-based network or a wireless NIC (WNIC) or wireless adapter forcommunicating with a wireless network, such as a WI-FI. The computingdevice 900 can further include a bus 912. The bus 912 can comprisehardware, software, or both that couples components of computing device900 to each other.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. Various embodimentsand aspects of the invention(s) are described with reference to detailsdiscussed herein, and the accompanying drawings illustrate the variousembodiments. The description above and drawings are illustrative of theinvention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.Numerous specific details are described to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various embodiments of the present invention.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. For example, the methods described herein may beperformed with less or more steps/acts or the steps/acts may beperformed in differing orders. Additionally, the steps/acts describedherein may be repeated or performed in parallel with one another or inparallel with different instances of the same or similar steps/acts. Thescope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claimsrather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come withinthe meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embracedwithin their scope.

We claim:
 1. In a digital environment for performing data scienceoperations, a method of creating data science operations, the methodcomprising: providing, via a user interface, a list of data sources;providing, via the user interface, a list of data science algorithms;receiving, based on user input, a selection of: a data source from thelist of data sources; and a data science algorithm from the list of datascience algorithms; identifying reusable algorithm building blocks fromthe data science algorithm; generating, by at least one processor, adata science operation by pairing data from the data source with theidentified reusable algorithm building blocks from the data sciencealgorithm; executing, by the at least one processor, the generated datascience operation to generate a data science result; and providing, viathe user interface, a visualization of the data science result.
 2. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein identifying reusable algorithmbuilding blocks comprises identifying a component descriptor for theselected data science algorithm, and wherein the component descriptorprovides annotations that facilitate paring the data from the datasource with the selected data science algorithm to generate the datascience operation.
 3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein pairingthe data from the data source with the identified reusable algorithmbuilding blocks comprises injecting data types from the data source intovariables of the data science operation requiring matching data types.4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising determining atunable parameter in the data science operation.
 5. The method asrecited in claim 4, further comprising providing a prompt to modify thetunable parameter from a default value to a user-defined value.
 6. Themethod as recited in claim 5, further comprising executing the datascience operation using the user-defined value for the tunableparameter.
 7. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprisingproviding a prompt to input a value for the tunable parameter to replacea null value of the tunable parameter.
 8. The method as recited in claim1, wherein the visualization is a graph, chart, or plot of the datascience result.
 9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at leastone of the data sources from the list of data sources are user-specificdata sources.
 10. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:receiving an additional data source from another database; verifyingthat data from the additional data source is compatible with theselected data science algorithm; injecting the data from the additionaldata source into the data science algorithm; and updating the datascience operation to execute using the data from the additional datasource.
 11. In a digital environment for performing data scienceoperations, a system comprising: at least one processor; at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructionsthereon, that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause thesystem to: display, within a graphical user interface, a plurality ofdata sources and a plurality of algorithms, wherein each data source ofthe plurality of data sources comprises a data source schema, andwherein each algorithm of the plurality of algorithms comprises adescriptor; receive, via the graphical user interface, a selection of adata source from the plurality of data sources; determine, for eachalgorithm of the plurality of algorithms, whether the algorithm iscompatible to the selected data source by matching a data type in thedata source schema of the selected data source to a data type in thedescriptor of the algorithm; and filter the plurality of algorithms todisplay at least one compatible algorithm of the plurality of compatiblealgorithms.
 12. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein theinstructions further determine whether the algorithm is compatible tothe selected data source by comparing annotations in the descriptor ofthe algorithms to the data type in the selected data source to identifya matching data type.
 13. The system as recited in claim 11, furthercomprising instructions, that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the system to: receive, within the graphical userinterface, a selection of a compatible algorithm; generate a datascience operation using the selected data source and the selectedalgorithm; and execute the data science operation to output a visualresult.
 14. In a digital environment for performing data scienceoperations, a method of providing a dynamic graphical user interface forcreating data science algorithms, the method comprising: displaying,within a graphical user interface on a computing device, a plurality ofdata sources and a plurality of algorithms; receiving a selection of adata source from the plurality of data sources; identifying a datasource schema for the selected data source; comparing, by at least oneprocessor, the data source schema to each algorithm of the plurality ofalgorithms to identify a compatible algorithm; and updating thegraphical user interface to display the compatible algorithm.
 15. Themethod as recited in claim 14, further comprising parsing the datasource schema to identify at least one data type.
 16. The method asrecited in claim 15, wherein each algorithm of the plurality ofalgorithms comprises annotations, and wherein the annotations identify adata type used by the algorithm.
 17. The method as recited in claim 16,wherein comparing the data source schema to each algorithm to identifycompatible algorithms comprises comparing the data type from the datasource schema of the selected data source to the annotations from theplurality of algorithms to identify the algorithm having the data type.18. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising: receiving,within the graphical user interface, a selection of a compatiblealgorithm from the compatible algorithms; generating a data scienceoperation using the selected data source and the selected algorithm; andexecuting the data science operation.
 19. The method as recited in claim18, wherein the data science operation is generated by injecting datafrom the selected data source into the selected algorithm.
 20. Themethod as recited in claim 18, further comprising executing the datascience operation to output a visual result that is displayed within thegraphical user interface.